St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-03-05
WORK OF CONGRESS.
Both Hous es Considered and Partially Dis
posed of 1872 Bills and Joint
Resolutions
Three Important Appropriation Measures
Failo Enactment at the Last
Moment.

all OF 1udUblutub db tuO huob
Moment.
An Even Fifty Acts Throttled by the
President y esterday- His Nu-
merous Vetoes.
A Congress Which Breaks the Record
Again Greedy and Trotter
Confirmed.
WASHINGTON. March 4.-The congress
which ended its existence at noon to-day
has afforded ST. liking illustration of the
constant increase in the volume of legisa-
ton demanding the attention of congress
which has been going on for the last three
or more congresses. More bills were intro
| duced in both houses more cOmmittae re-
ports made more bills passed more be-
came laNs. and more were vetoed than ever
before. Most OF those measures were of
comparative unimpOrtance. such as bills
granting private pensions and special re-
lief; authorizing the erection of bridges;
granting right of way and the like. but
many not only of the bills and reports
presented, but of the laws enacted
are of general interest and impor-
lance. A number of bills enacted
into laws were old and familiar claimants
for Legislative favor. In this category be-
long the presidential succession bills: the
electoral count bill; the interstate commerce
| bill, and the state commerce bill. and the
bill for the relief of FitZ John Porter.
THE FoRTY-NINTH CONGRESS
commenced its session on the 4th of De-
cember. 1885, and was in session until Aug.
4, when it adjourned until Dec. 6. and
continued in session until it closed to-day,
covering a period of ten months and
twenty-six days. Of this time the senate
was in session 224 days and the house 251
days. There were introduced in the house
during this time II. 25S bills and a6S Joint
resolutions, on which over 5000 reports
were made: being several thousand
more bills and over thousand more re-
ports tran We're made in the Forty eighth
| congress- which in its turn had beaten the
record. In the senate there were intro
duced 5. 337 bills and lis joint resolutions
on which !, 1SS written reports were made
being upwards of five hundred more bills
and over four hundred more reports than in
/ the record-breakng Forty-eighth con-
gress. The total number of laws enacted
| was approximately, | 1891, of which LOSE
originated in the house and 33S in the SEN
ate. Two hundred and sixty-four of these
became laws by the expiration of the con-
stitutional ten days limit. Fifty bills
failed to become laws owing to the adjourn
ment of congress, nine Of them at the close
of the first session. There were 1872 bills
vetoed by the president, or twenty-one
more Instances of the exercise OF the
presidential prerOgative of veto than
had occurred from the foundation of the
government down to the beginning of this
congress. Of the vetoed bills 81 originated
| in the house and 80 in the senate. But one
private bill, granting a pension to Joseph
Pomiser, and one public bill. namely, that
providing for the erection of government
building at Dayton, o., succeeded in pass
ing both houses over the presidents veto,
although several others obtained the requis-
lite tWO-thirdS vote in the senate only to
fail in the house.
THE DEATH ROLL
OF this congress was also an extraordinary
one, comprising the unprecedented number
of thirteen names in the house and senate.
They are those Of Vice President Hendricks,
president of the senate; Senators Miller, of
California; Pike, OF New Hampshire. and
Logan. OF Illinois; Representatives Hahn, of
Louisiana: Arnot, Beach and Dowdney, of
| New York; Price, of Wisconsin; Cole. of
Maryland; Elwood, of Illinois; Duncan, of
Pennsylvania. and Rankin, of Wisconsin.
But one election case was decided by the
house against the sitting member. and con-
gress was characterized by an absence
Of that acrimonious discussion which
such contests usually awaken. The Rhode
Island case of Page VS.. Pierce, in which
the house decided that neither party was
entitled to the seat and a new election was
ordered, was the one instance of seat
being taken from the sitting member. OF
the l, 053 house bills which became laws, 275
were of more or less public nature. Of the
remaining IT'S bills, granting pensions or re-
lief TO specially designated persons, 156 be-
came laws without the approval of the
president. The following is a list of the
! more important house bills which
HAVE BECOME LAWS.
To forfeit the Atlantic s. Pacific railroad
| grants: TO increase the pension of widows and
dependent relations from So to sig per
month: to abolish certain fees for official
! services to American vessels, and to amend
the shipping laws (the Dngley shipping bilD /:
| to amend the Thurman act Gt requires the
| Pacific railroads to pay the costs of surveying
; and conveying their land grants, and SUBJECTS
! the land to taxation so soon as the companies
are entitled to them, Notwithstanding the
| fact that they may delay selection; the in
crease of the naval establishment lit was
| passed in the first session of the
present congress, and provides for the
| construction of two armored vessels
| of sixteen knots speed, one cruiser of the
! highest practicable speed: one torpedo boat
and one d Mantle gun cruiser and for the
| completion of the monitors Puritan, Amphi-
| trite Monadock and Terror; to pension the
| Mexican war veterans; to impose a tax and
regulate the manufacture, sale, importation
! and expectation of oleomargarine; to author
| iZe the transfer Of a tract near Chicago to the
! United States for military purposes: to pro-
| tect homestead settlers within railroad limits
| to enable national banking associations to in
crease their capital stock and change their
| name and Locations; for the construc-
| ton of q congressional library
building; to grant license to towing
| vessels to carry limited number of
persons in addition to their crews; to forfeit
the New Orleans. Baton Rouge s. Vicksburg
railroad backbone land grant,; to reduce
| the fees on domestic money orders for sums
| less than S.; to make allowances for clerk
| hire to postmasters of the first and second
| classes to cover the cost of clerical labor in
| the money order bureau; to extend the i'm
| mediate delivery system; to prohibit the pass
| age of local or special laws in the territories
| to create the judicial district OF Southern
California; making appropriations for addi-
| tional barracks at the Southern, Northwestern
| and Western branches of the national
soldiers home; TO provide for closing up the
| business of the court of Alabama claims; to
! establish additional life saving stations; for
| the construction of an additional lighthouse;
| extending
| THE FREE DELIVERY SYSTEM
/ to towns of LOCO persons; for the construc-
| ton of lighthouse supply steamer for the
| Atlantic and gulf coasts; for the sale of the
| Cherokee reservation in Arkansas; to amend
the statutes so as to require brewers to give